The State School Teachers’ Union has accused the Federal Government of treating state and territory Education Ministers with contempt over its lack of true consultation on its education funding plan.
The government met with Education Ministers from around the country in Adelaide today, but failed to convince them that its so-called Gonski 2.0 plan was a good deal.
Under the new plan, students across Australia will miss out on $3.2 billion that they would have received in 2018 and 2019 under the original Gonski plan, which was signed with the former Labor government.
“Malcolm Turnbull has hijacked the Gonski plan and replaced it with a con that promises funding to come but actually delivers cuts,” said SSTUWA president Pat Byrne.
“Today’s meeting was more about the Federal Government trying to railroad the states into accepting its new funding plan, rather than any true attempt at consultation.
“It has abandoned the key principle of the Gonski agreements: that the Commonwealth and state and territory governments work together to ensure all schools are lifted to a minimum resource standard.
“As far as we can tell, today’s meeting was a complete waste of time, and the Federal Government clearly isn’t interested in actually working together with the states and territories.”
Ms Byrne said the union was particularly concerned about the lack of detail from the government about its plan.
“The State Governments are being asked to get on board with a plan that at this stage has minimal detail, with the full policy not expected to be revealed until mid-2018,” she said.
“It’s ridiculous to put the states in a position where they’re being asked to accept a funding agreement when they don’t even know what conditions are going to be attached.
“That’s why we are calling on the Senate to reject this legislation when it’s introduced.
“The Greens and Nick Xenophon Team cannot support education cuts that leave students across the country worse off.
“The SSTUWA will work closely with its national colleagues to see that the true effects of this scam are made clear to parents and the broader community.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Rebecca Boteler, Campaign Capital, 0424 569 179
